Shortly after Adolf Hitler came to power in 1933, laws were passed barring Jews from working in the public sector. That meant many of the most important minds were tossed out of their jobs at major universities. In response, The Emergency Committee in Aid of Displaced German Scholars formed in New York. Within a few years, the Committee brought about 300 professors to the U.S. Nine were hired by The University of Chicago.

But many found work where there was great need - at some of the Historically Black Colleges and Universities in the southern United States. There, despite the constraints of their own exile and the Jim Crow laws, many formed unique and lasting bonds with their students.